A Pittsburgh sportscaster is taking on some of the nation's biggest chemical companies, accusing them of making pesticides that killed his father. Tom Walsh died of leukemia at just 56 years old, after he spent 38 years working on Pittsburgh-area golf courses.“Not only my dad, but he was my best friend too,” said his son, sportscaster Rich Walsh.VIDEO: Click Here to Watch Paul Van Osdol's ReportHe grew up around the golf courses his dad was responsible for keeping green.Among them the former Alcoma Country Club in Penn Hills where Tom Walsh worked for more than two decades.“He loved golf. He loved working outside. He loved to take care of golf courses,” Rich Walsh said.Rich and his dad were playing golf back in the summer of 2008 when his father got terribly sick.They thought it was a bad cold but tests showed Tom Walsh had acute myeloid leukemia. He ended up in a medically-induced coma.“At one point they told me he was the sickest person in Pittsburgh. He made it out of the coma and we thought we were in the clear,” Walsh said.But in February 2009, when Rich was flying back from a Steelers Super Bowl victory, he got the call that would change his life.“Got a phone call on the plane that he went into cardiac arrest, and he lost all brain activity,” Walsh said.The next day, Tom Walsh was dead.“I'd give up everything I have to have him here sitting next to me right now,” Walsh said. “It’s just so hard even five years later.”Rich's perspective changed after his dad's oncologist showed him the results of genetic testing on Tom Walsh.“He pointed out how my dad's DNA was altered and his chromosomes were changed throughout the years because of exposure to chemicals,” Walsh said.“And the only chemicals Mr. Walsh ever worked with were pesticides,” said Anthony D’Amico, Walsh’s attorney.D’Amico said log books discovered by Rich after his father's death are another key piece of evidence.In them Tom Walsh detailed every pesticide he applied over the course of nearly two decades ,down to the date and the amount.Chemicals like Daconil, Dylox and Chipco. Also Dursban, which was withdrawn from home and garden use in 2000 because of EPA concerns.Companies making those chemicals and others - Bayer, BASF, Dow, John Deere Landscapes, Monsanto and Syngenta - were named in a lawsuit filed by Rich Walsh and his dad's estate.“I feel like they took my dad away from me. I feel like they murdered my dad,” Walsh said.One company, Syngenta, said in a statement that all the chemicals named in the suit "must undergo a rigorous registration process" with the EPA that includes "more than 120 public studies and numerous intricate regulatory submissions to evaluate any potential impact on the environment and human health."In court records, the companies argue there is no evidence showing any specific chemicals caused Tom Walsh's death.The companies also criticize Walsh's medical experts, with Bayer saying in one document, "On its face, that 'methodology' is at best, novel science, and, at worst, no science at all."Jay Feldman of the advocacy group Beyond Pesticides has heard that before.“When you call these types of conclusions junk science then you're basically ignoring the body of scientific literature,” Feldman said. “You see incredible connections between brain cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, with a lot of these chemicals that are used in turf management.”A study of former golf course superintendents found they had higher levels of four types of cancer: brain, lymphoma, prostate and large intestine. While the study found the pattern was similar to other occupations using pesticide, it did not say any specific chemicals caused cancer.“I would say golf course superintendent is in one of the highest risk categories when it comes to exposure to pesticides,” Feldman said.Reporter Paul Van Osdol asked the state Agriculture Department - which oversees pesticide applicators - about that study.Van Osdol: “Should they be concerned about working around these chemicals?”Lisa Candelore, Agriculture Department: “I think anybody using any type of chemical needs to take the proper steps.”That includes wearing protective clothing, goggles and even a respirator.Rich says his dad did all of that.“You do what the chemical companies tell you to do but it still didn't save my dad's life,” he said.Some of the chemicals used by Tom Walsh twenty or thirty years ago have since been banned or restricted by the EPA. And, while pesticides are still widely used on golf courses, some courses in the Pittsburgh area have moved toward using organic products.More than two dozen area courses - including Glengarry Golf Links in Latrobe - are now using organic fertilizer. And they're using fewer toxic chemicals, according to Rich Bryce of Advanced Turf Solutions.“We are absolutely going toward more environmentally and people friendly products, because it's the right thing to do,” Bryce said.Among the courses going green is Rolling Fields in Murrysville. The owner is Rich Walsh, whose father took over the course only a couple years before his death.Tom Walsh- nicknamed T-Bone - is remembered on the walls and even at the bar.Every year they hold a tournament to raise money for the Western Pennsylvania Cancer Institute where Tom Walsh was treated.Rich hopes something positive also comes out of his lawsuit.Van Osdol: “You trying to send a message with this?”Walsh: “Yeah. I don't know if one person can do it but I'm going to try.”This legal battle has been going on for four years and it's not expected to end anytime soon.One local pesticide distributor named in the lawsuit, E.H. Griffith, recently reached a settlement with Rich Walsh.Experts say golfers do not face the same exposure to chemicals as course superintendents. But they say golfers should definitely take these precautions:Avoid putting anything in your mouth that touches the golf course, including tees or cigars.And wash your hands after you finish your round.

MURRYSVILLE, Pa. —

A Pittsburgh sportscaster is taking on some of the nation's biggest chemical companies, accusing them of making pesticides that killed his father. Tom Walsh died of leukemia at just 56 years old, after he spent 38 years working on Pittsburgh-area golf courses.

“Not only my dad, but he was my best friend too,” said his son, sportscaster Rich Walsh.

Related Content

He grew up around the golf courses his dad was responsible for keeping green.

Among them the former Alcoma Country Club in Penn Hills where Tom Walsh worked for more than two decades.

“He loved golf. He loved working outside. He loved to take care of golf courses,” Rich Walsh said.

Rich and his dad were playing golf back in the summer of 2008 when his father got terribly sick.

They thought it was a bad cold but tests showed Tom Walsh had acute myeloid leukemia. He ended up in a medically-induced coma.

“At one point they told me he was the sickest person in Pittsburgh. He made it out of the coma and we thought we were in the clear,” Walsh said.

But in February 2009, when Rich was flying back from a Steelers Super Bowl victory, he got the call that would change his life.

“Got a phone call on the plane that he went into cardiac arrest, and he lost all brain activity,” Walsh said.

The next day, Tom Walsh was dead.

“I'd give up everything I have to have him here sitting next to me right now,” Walsh said. “It’s just so hard even five years later.”

Rich's perspective changed after his dad's oncologist showed him the results of genetic testing on Tom Walsh.

“He pointed out how my dad's DNA was altered and his chromosomes were changed throughout the years because of exposure to chemicals,” Walsh said.

“And the only chemicals Mr. Walsh ever worked with were pesticides,” said Anthony D’Amico, Walsh’s attorney.

D’Amico said log books discovered by Rich after his father's death are another key piece of evidence.

In them Tom Walsh detailed every pesticide he applied over the course of nearly two decades ,down to the date and the amount.

Chemicals like Daconil, Dylox and Chipco. Also Dursban, which was withdrawn from home and garden use in 2000 because of EPA concerns.

Companies making those chemicals and others - Bayer, BASF, Dow, John Deere Landscapes, Monsanto and Syngenta - were named in a lawsuit filed by Rich Walsh and his dad's estate.

“I feel like they took my dad away from me. I feel like they murdered my dad,” Walsh said.

One company, Syngenta, said in a statement that all the chemicals named in the suit "must undergo a rigorous registration process" with the EPA that includes "more than 120 public studies and numerous intricate regulatory submissions to evaluate any potential impact on the environment and human health."

In court records, the companies argue there is no evidence showing any specific chemicals caused Tom Walsh's death.

The companies also criticize Walsh's medical experts, with Bayer saying in one document, "On its face, that 'methodology' is at best, novel science, and, at worst, no science at all."

Jay Feldman of the advocacy group Beyond Pesticides has heard that before.

“When you call these types of conclusions junk science then you're basically ignoring the body of scientific literature,” Feldman said. “You see incredible connections between brain cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, with a lot of these chemicals that are used in turf management.”

A study of former golf course superintendents found they had higher levels of four types of cancer: brain, lymphoma, prostate and large intestine. While the study found the pattern was similar to other occupations using pesticide, it did not say any specific chemicals caused cancer.

“I would say golf course superintendent is in one of the highest risk categories when it comes to exposure to pesticides,” Feldman said.

Van Osdol: “Should they be concerned about working around these chemicals?”

Lisa Candelore, Agriculture Department: “I think anybody using any type of chemical needs to take the proper steps.”

That includes wearing protective clothing, goggles and even a respirator.

Rich says his dad did all of that.

“You do what the chemical companies tell you to do but it still didn't save my dad's life,” he said.

Some of the chemicals used by Tom Walsh twenty or thirty years ago have since been banned or restricted by the EPA. And, while pesticides are still widely used on golf courses, some courses in the Pittsburgh area have moved toward using organic products.

More than two dozen area courses - including Glengarry Golf Links in Latrobe - are now using organic fertilizer. And they're using fewer toxic chemicals, according to Rich Bryce of Advanced Turf Solutions.

“We are absolutely going toward more environmentally and people friendly products, because it's the right thing to do,” Bryce said.

Among the courses going green is Rolling Fields in Murrysville. The owner is Rich Walsh, whose father took over the course only a couple years before his death.

Tom Walsh- nicknamed T-Bone - is remembered on the walls and even at the bar.

Every year they hold a tournament to raise money for the Western Pennsylvania Cancer Institute where Tom Walsh was treated.

Rich hopes something positive also comes out of his lawsuit.

Van Osdol: “You trying to send a message with this?”

Walsh: “Yeah. I don't know if one person can do it but I'm going to try.”

This legal battle has been going on for four years and it's not expected to end anytime soon.

One local pesticide distributor named in the lawsuit, E.H. Griffith, recently reached a settlement with Rich Walsh.

Experts say golfers do not face the same exposure to chemicals as course superintendents. But they say golfers should definitely take these precautions:

Avoid putting anything in your mouth that touches the golf course, including tees or cigars.